Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn't Designed for You

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Every woman who struggles to flourish in our one-size-fits-all society should read this book.”—Susan Cain, New York Timesbestselling author of Quiet The Scamper technique is another creative idea-developing strategy developed by Bob Eberle. It is very useful in creating something innovative and practicing divergent thinking. For example, let’s say we have to come up with an idea for work. Once we have that “idea”, we’ll put it through a series of “filters”. As you can see, both of these processes are necessary to come to a solution. You can’t just set your heart on Disney World without considering practical factors, like budget or location. But when you do come up with an “out of the box” solution that does fit into your constraints, you’ve got a great solution on your hands. How to Effectively Use Convergent and Divergent Thinking

What is ‘normal’? Who gets to decide? Jenara Nerenberg’s wide-ranging Divergent Mind asks and answers these and other essential questions, offering a vision for how individuals and society can take better advantage of the many ways in which we are human.” — Louise Aronson, MD, New York Times bestselling author of Elderhood: Redefining Aging, Transforming Medicine, Reimagining Life Let’s start by talking about divergent thinking. When you think about “brainstorming,” you are thinking about divergent thinking. This type of thinking requires you to expand your mind and find innovative solutions. The possibilities are endless. Divergent thinking allows you to see products in materials in new and different ways.In 1985, psychologist Edward de Bono wrote "Six Thinking Hats" about a problem-solving exercise that involved roleplay. He described six different "hats" a person could wear as they brainstormed new ideas: a b c d Vosburg, Suzanne K. (1998-04-01). "The Effects of Positive and Negative Mood on Divergent-Thinking Performance". Creativity Research Journal. 11 (2): 165–172. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1102_6. ISSN 1040-0419. Knowing the differences between convergent vs. divergent thinking can help you brainstorm. However, this approach may not be the best process for every team. Below are some other ways to brainstorm new ideas and find solutions to your most pressing problems. Storyboarding This isn't set in stone. Trust your team members. If they prefer one style over the other, give them the chance to shine! Other Ideas for Brainstorming

Isen, Alice M.; Daubman, Kimberly A. (1984-12-01). "The influence of affect on categorization". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 47 (6): 1206–1217. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.47.6.1206. ISSN 1939-1315. If you have a strong team that respects each other's processes, you may want to split your team up by their strengths and allow some to focus on convergent thinking or divergent thinking. Some team members naturally lean toward one or the other. Allowing people to show off their strengths can get your team the best answer in a process that everyone enjoys. Dyson, Scott Benjamin; Chang, Yu-Lin; Chen, Hsueh-Chih; Hsiung, Hsiang-Yu; Tseng, Chien-Chih; Chang, Jen-Ho (March 2016). "The effect of tabletop role-playing games on the creative potential and emotional creativity of Taiwanese college students". Thinking Skills and Creativity. 19: 88–96. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2015.10.004. People with “flat” semantic networks have mental networks that are much more connected. That is, sometimes they relate two things to each other that don’t make sense but other networks contribute and an ingenious idea results.Activities which promote divergent thinking include creating lists of questions, setting aside time for thinking and meditation, brainstorming, subject mapping, bubble mapping, keeping a journal, playing tabletop role-playing games, [1] creating artwork, and free writing. In free writing, a person will focus on one particular topic and write non-stop about it for a short period of time, in a stream of consciousness fashion. Nerenberg’s not alone. Between a flawed system that focuses on younger, male populations, and the fact that girls are conditioned from a young age to blend in, women often don’t learn about their neurological differences until they are adults, if at all. As a result, potentially millions live with undiagnosed neuro-divergences, obscured by anxiety and depression. Meanwhile, we all miss out on the gifts neurodivergent minds have to offer. Like we said, all of us, regardless of age, can practice and improve our divergent thinking. To do so, we will focus on four areas in particular:

a b c de Chantal, Pier‐Luc; Gagnon‐St‐Pierre, Émilie; Markovits, Henry (July 2020). "Divergent Thinking Promotes Deductive Reasoning in Preschoolers". Child Development. 91 (4): 1081–1097. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13278. ISSN 0009-3920. Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-flowing, "non-linear" manner, such that many ideas are generated in an emergent cognitive fashion. Many possible solutions are explored in a short amount of time, and unexpected connections are drawn. Following divergent thinking, ideas and information are organized and structured using convergent thinking, which follows a particular set of logical steps to arrive at one solution, which in some cases is a "correct" solution.a b c Horne, J. A. (1988). "Sleep Loss and "Divergent Thinking" Ability" (PDF). Sleep. 11 (6): 528–536. doi: 10.1093/sleep/11.6.528. PMID 3238256. Don't have two days to come up with an idea? Split your team into two groups and let the debate begin! Well, sort of. What would happen if you chose six people on your team to wear these "hats?" Would they think about a solution in a new way? Would they come up with great, new ideas? There is only one way to find out! We have all heard about how the right hemisphere of the brain is the creative side and the left is the logical side. Therefore, according this theory, people who use more divergent or lateral thinking will more often use the right hemisphere. Well, we have to be careful with this kind of generalization about lateralization or cerebral dominance. Because actually it is a very nuanced process.